History YMMV / TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess

** Zant to an extent. While he is the most diverse boss in the game and has an awesome battle theme to go with it, he is not that difficult if one remembers what weapon to use, not helped that Zant doesn't exactly have a vast repertoire of attacks. [[note]]he mainly fires energy blasts and when you get to Blizzeta's phase, he tries to stomp on you.[[/note]] Also, the sword duel at the end was pretty lackluster due to him only having about three attacks at his disposal, all of which are results of his insane breakdown. This possibly counts as an InvokedTrope, however, since Zant's whole gimmick is a combination of "trying to be something he's not" and "taking power from others". His boss battle makes you re-visit previous areas and battles that you've already won, lending further credence to the fact that his power does not come from his own self and is thus false (see: stealing Midna's throne, using Ganondorf's magic to strengthen himself, etc.).

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** Zant to an extent. While he is the most diverse boss in the game and has an awesome battle theme to go with it, he is not that difficult if one remembers what weapon to use, not helped that Zant doesn't exactly have a vast repertoire of attacks. [[note]]he mainly fires energy blasts and when you get to Blizzeta's phase, he tries to stomp on you.[[/note]] Also, the sword duel at the end was pretty lackluster due to him only having about three attacks at his disposal, all of which are results of his insane breakdown. This possibly counts as an InvokedTrope, however, since Zant's whole gimmick is a combination of "trying to be something he's not" and "taking power from others". His boss battle makes you re-visit previous areas and battles that you've already won, lending further credence to the fact that his power does not come from his own self and is thus false (see: stealing Midna's throne, using Ganondorf's magic to strengthen himself, etc.).

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: ** Many fans feel this way about Zant. Most of his onscreen appearances are usually in flashbacks that only focus on Zant's cruelty and not his character, and he only interacts with Link and Midna three times in the whole game, [[note]]Once at Lanaryu Spring, before the boss fight with Stallord, and finally at the Palace of Twilight[[/note]] thus leaving his character underdeveloped when the VillainousBreakdown payoff comes around. That being said, many fans were quite elated to see him return as a playable character in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', which in fact plays up his psychopathic traits rather than keeping them a surprise.** This incarnation of Princess Zelda is barely relevant in this game. She only interacts with Link three times before the final battle with Ganondorf. Of those three, two of them were in Wolf form and she spent most of them speaking with Midna.** Despite being the real BigBad, Ganondorf himself falls into this. He gets even ''less'' screentime than Zant[[note]]Once in the post-Arbiter's Grounds flashback, and at the story's endgame[[/note]], and thus his character gets even less exposure than him.** [[LaResistance The Resistance]], despite being a cool team of rebels who actually care about Zant and Ganondorf's takeover of Hyrule, do barely anything other than show Link where dungeons are and unlock new areas. Even when Link finally storms Hyrule Castle, they only appear in a brief scene where they take out a small group of enemies Link could have easily handled.** Dark Link is given a new character model for his appearance in Twilight Princess, but said appearance is as a cameo in a single cutscene.

* {{Fanon}}: ''Twilight Princess'''s Link is often referred to by fans as the Hero of Twilight or other similar titles akin to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Hero of Time]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Hero of Winds]]. The game itself never gives him any such title, only referring to him as the "Chosen Hero" or (in the case of his wolf form) "Blue-eyed Beast".

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* {{Fanon}}: ''Twilight Princess'''s Link is often referred to by fans as the Hero of Twilight or other similar titles akin to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Hero of Time]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Hero of Winds]]. The game itself never gives him any such title, only referring to him as the "Chosen Hero" or (in the case of his wolf form) "Blue-eyed Beast". [[AscendedFanon However later games do confirm the "Hero of Twilight" title]], as ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' refers to the amiibo exclusive gear based on this Link as such.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: ** Many fans feel this way about Zant. While the idea of him being a PsychopathicManchild hiding behind a calm facade is interesting enough and some fans didn't mind Ganon hijacking the plot, many fans felt it would have been better had the story actually built up to the eventual reveal rather than just throw it out all at once. It doesn't help that most of his onscreen appearances are usually in flashbacks that only focus on Zant's cruelty and not his character, and that he only interacts with Link and Midna three times in the whole game, [[note]]Once at Lanaryu Spring, before the boss fight with Stallord, and finally at the Palace of Twilight[[/note]] thus leaving his character underdeveloped. His lackluster and anticlimatic boss fight only rubbed further salt in the wound. That being said, many fans were quite elated to see him return as a playable character in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', which in fact plays up his psychopathic traits rather than keeping them a surprise.** This incarnation of Princess Zelda is barely relevant in this game. She only interacts with Link three times before the final battle with Ganondorf. Of those three, two of them were in Wolf form and she spent most of them speaking with Midna.** Despite being the real BigBad, Ganondorf himself falls into this. Despite him manipulating Zant and having his usual goal to TakeOverTheWorld, it's never explained exactly ''how'' he intends to do so this time. He doesn't display any of his established desire to capture Link and Zelda to extract their respective pieces of the Triforce. Practically no one pays him any mind unlike in ''Ocarina of Time'', and he doesn't get remotely active in the plot until Zelda rescues Midna. His relationship with Zant is underdeveloped beyond a vague "bonding" that allows access to Ganondorf's power, and the focus suddenly shifts to him when Zant is out of the picture, which is unfortunately near the end of the game. Also, his sympathetic qualities introduced in ''Wind Waker'' are never made reference to.** [[LaResistance The Resistance]], despite being a cool team of rebels who actually care about Zant and Ganondorf's takeover of Hyrule, do barely anything other than show Link where dungeons are and unlock new areas. Even when Link finally storms Hyrule Castle, they only appear in a brief scene where they take out a small group of enemies Link could have easily handled.** Dark Link is given a new character model for his appearance in Twilight Princess, but said appearance is as a cameo in a single cutscene.

Reason: They Wasted A Perfectly Good Character is not about characters who didn't get enough screentime or development under the game's mechanics, not about complaining about how you think a character should have been handled.

* FandomSpecificPlot:** Link is a rancher because he is the son/grandson of Oot!Link and Malon.** [[spoiler: Link finds a way back into the Twilight Realm and maintains a romantic relationship with Midna. [[BabiesEverAFter Pregnancies]], before or after he makes the trip, are not uncommon.]]

** The Bulblin enemy race as a whole is this. Some love them for their surprisingly detailed society, varied methods of attack (melee club, shooting arrows, riding Bulbos, and alerting groups to Link from a watchtower), and the HiddenDepths of their leader King Bulblin. Others dislike them for being little more than generic [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orcs]], lacking the charm that other enemies have, and being redundant when the Bokoblins already exist. Nintendo seems to have agreed with the last point, as their societal traits have been incorporated into the Bokoblins in later games, and aside from a very minor role in ''Spirit Tracks'', the Bulblins haven't been seen since.

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** The Bulblin enemy race as a whole is this. Some love them for their surprisingly detailed society, varied methods of attack (melee club, shooting arrows, riding Bulbos, and alerting groups to Link from a watchtower), and the HiddenDepths of their leader King Bulblin. Others dislike them for being little more than generic [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orcs]], lacking the charm that other ''Zelda'' enemies have, and being redundant when the Bokoblins already exist. Nintendo seems to have agreed with the last point, as their societal traits have been incorporated into the Bokoblins in later games, and aside from a very minor role in ''Spirit Tracks'', the Bulblins haven't been seen since.

** The Bulblin enemy race as a whole is this. Some love them for their surprisingly detailed society, varied methods of attack (melee club, shooting arrows, riding Bulbos, and alerting groups to Link from a watchtower), and the HiddenDepths of their leader King Bulblin. Others dislike them for being little more than generic [[OurOrcsAreDifferent orcs]], lacking the charm that other enemies have, and being redundant when the Bokoblins already exist. Nintendo seems to have agreed with the last point, as their societal traits have been incorporated into the Bokoblins in later games, and aside from a very minor role in ''Spirit Tracks'', the Bulblins haven't been seen since.

* BestLevelEver: Many fans consider the dungeons in ''Twilight Princess'' to be among the best in the series, especially those in the latter half. Particular favorites include the Arbiter's Grounds[[note]]a desert prison full of ghosts and traps where Ganondorf was once held, capped off by a great boss fight[[/note]], Snowpeak Ruins[[note]]a creepy yet oddly cozy abandoned mansion on a snowy mountain, inhabited by a yeti couple[[/note]], the Temple of Time[[note]]an expansion of the Temple of Time from ''Ocarina'' where Link gets to manipulate statues[[/note]], and the City in the Sky[[note]]a floating city that requires Link to use his Clawshot(s) and float with Oocca to get around[[/note]].

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* BestLevelEver: Many fans consider the dungeons in ''Twilight Princess'' to be among the best in the series, especially those in the latter half. Particular favorites include the Arbiter's Grounds[[note]]a desert prison full of ghosts and traps where Ganondorf was once held, capped off by a great boss fight[[/note]], Snowpeak Ruins[[note]]a creepy yet oddly cozy abandoned mansion on a snowy mountain, inhabited by a yeti couple[[/note]], the Temple of Time[[note]]an expansion of the Temple of Time from ''Ocarina'' where Link gets to manipulate statues[[/note]], and the City in the Sky[[note]]a floating city that requires Link to use his Clawshot(s) and float with Oocca to get around[[/note]]. The Arbiter's Grounds in particular stands out so much that [[spoiler:it recieved an appearance in ''Breath of the Wild'', albeit nothing is left of the original building but a few fragments of its architecture.]]

* VindicatedByHistory: There was a time after this game came out where it became socially acceptable not only to like ''The Wind Waker'', but to start comparing it to ''Twilight Princess'' favorably. Once ''Skyward Sword'' came out, suddenly the same happened to this game. Though there are still some controversial aspects about it (such as the HijackedByGanon scenario, the SlowPacedBeginning, and the dated visuals), it has been looked back as a good game because of the dungeons, the darker story, the new items and sword skills, and (among timeline theorists) the subtle-yet-plentiful background nods to ''Ocarina of Time''.

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* VindicatedByHistory: There was a time after this game came out where it became socially acceptable not only to like ''The Wind Waker'', but to start comparing it to ''Twilight Princess'' favorably. Once ''Skyward Sword'' came out, suddenly the same happened to this game. Though there are still some controversial aspects about it (such as the HijackedByGanon scenario, the SlowPacedBeginning, and the dated visuals), it has been looked back as a good game because of the dungeons, the darker story, the new items and sword skills, and (among timeline theorists) the subtle-yet-plentiful background nods to ''Ocarina of Time''. Also, the HD remake that brightens it up, addressing the complaints about the original's RealIsBrown aesthetic.

** [[spoiler:Ganondorf's face after Link stabs him in the chest. It's clear he's screaming in pain, and the fight itself was epic (assuming you didn't use the fishing rod and we all know ''that'' could very well count as this), but could Ganondorf's mouth get any wider?]]

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